Method and device for position detection

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method and device for position detection. For detection of a touch position, a segment of surface acoustic wave (SAW) is provided multiple times to be propagated on a SAW touch panel, and the multiple SAW segments are received by the SAW touch panel. In addition, during or after reception, partial output electrical signals are provided based on different portions of each received SAW segment to construct a complete output electrical signal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/433,484, filed at Mar. 29, 2012, which is herein incorporated byreference for all intents and purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and device for touch positiondetection, and more particularly, to a method and device for touchposition detection on large-size surface acoustic wave panel.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch panel is a touch panel that determinesthe position of a touch input on a touch screen by sensing a SAW signalat a target location. It converts an electrical signal to the SAW signalby using a transducer including a piezoelectric material, and thendetermines whether the SAW signal is blocked and cannot be received whentraveling on the touch screen.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of aconventional SAW touch panel. As shown in FIG. 1A, a touch panel 10includes a screen area 11 and a reflection area 12. The reflection area12 includes a sensing device 13, which has a first and a secondhorizontal-axis transducer element 14 a and 14 b and a first and asecond vertical-axis transducer element 15 a and 15 b, wherein thesecond horizontal-axis and vertical axis transducer elements 14 b and 15b receive SAW signals Signal_V1 and Signal_V2 corresponding to inputelectrical signals Signal_Ei1 and Signal_Ei2 sent by the firsthorizontal-axis and vertical axis transducer elements 14 a and 15 a,respectively. In addition, the sensing device 13 further includes a setof first and second vertical-axis reflection units 16 a and 16 b and aset of first and second horizontal-axis reflection units 17 a and 17 b.These four reflection units 16 a, 16 b, 17 a and 17 b each includes aplurality of reflectors r. These reflectors r are all partiallytransmissive and partially reflective. Meanwhile, the SAW signalsSignal_V1 and Signal_V2 necessary for sensing a possible touch point Pinput on each horizontal axis and vertical axis are provided by thispartially transmissive and partially reflective effect of the reflectorsr. These reflectors r can be a wiring layer printed on a glass substrateof the touch screen, so cost of manufacturing is low. In addition, thereflectors r of the reflection units 16 a, 16 b, 17 a and 17 b are allarranged from sparse to dense (as seen from the traveling directions ofthe SAW signals Signal_V1 and Signal_V2). The reason for this is becausethat, in the case of evenly arranged reflection units 16 a, 16 b, 17 aand 17 b, the SAW signals Signal_V1 and Signal_V2 available forreflection for reflectors r at the back are less due to partialreflection. This affects the ability of the reflection units 16 a, 16 b,17 a and 17 b to accurately sense the positions of input touch pointscorresponding to the back parts thereof. Thus, the reflection units 16a, 16 b, 17 a and 17 b are arranged from sparse to dense to even the SAWsignal Signal_V1 or Signal_V2 input to each reflector r forcompensation. FIGS. 1B and 1C are diagrams illustrating electricpotentials of output electrical signals Signal_Eo1 and Signal Eo2 of theSAW touch panel shown in FIG. 1A without and with a touch point P input,respectively. In the diagrams, Vy represents the electrical potential ofthe output electrical signal Signal_Eo1, and is the X axis of thecoordinate of the input touch point P; Vx represents the electricalpotential of the output electrical signal Signal_Eo2, and is the Y axisof the coordinate of the input touch point P. The reason that theduration of Vx is longer than that of Vy is because the path travelledby the second SAW signal Signal_V2 is longer. The depression shown inFIG. 1C is a representation of the sensing of the touch point P, whichis the basis for determining the position of the touch point P input. Inaddition, at the beginning of Vy and Vx, there may be a spike (notshown) caused by the input electrical signals Signal_Ei1 and Signal_Ei2being received by the second horizontal-axis transducer element 14 b andthe second vertical-axis transducer element 15 b directly via the secondhorizontal-axis reflection unit 17 b and the second vertical-axisreflection unit 16 b immediately after input, respectively.

However, in large-size SAW touch panels, since the surface acoustic waveattenuates with the increase of the propagation distance and the numberof reflections traversed, as shown in FIG. 1E, the size of thedepression also reduces. Thus, it is possible that a touch further awayfrom the horizontal-axis and vertical-axis transducer elements 14 a and15 b is not detected because the size of the depression fails to exceeda threshold.

From the above it is clear that prior art still has shortcomings. Inorder to solve these problems, efforts have long been made in vain,while ordinary products and methods offering no appropriate structuresand methods. Thus, there is a need in the industry for a novel techniquethat solves these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to address the problem that aweak SAW signal on a large-size SAW touch panel due to long propagationdistance renders a touch too difficult to be distinguished. The presentinvention provides a segment of SAW multiple times to be propagated on aSAW touch panel, and provides partial output electrical signals based ondifferent portions of each SAW to construct a complete output electricalsignal. Each received SAW signal is amplified to different extends toovercome that the SAW signal becomes too weak due to long propagationdistance.

Moreover, the present invention further detects a position based on eachdepression in the complete output electrical signal.

The objectives of the present invention are achieved by the followingtechnical schemes. A position detecting method proposed by the presentinvention includes: generating a complete output electrical signal whena surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch panel is untouched, the completeoutput electrical signal being formed by combining multiple segments ofpartial output electrical signals generated based on different portionsof multiple SAWs; generating a complete output electrical signal whenthe SAW touch panel is being touched; comparing the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is being touched with thecomplete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouchedto detect one or more depressions in the complete output electricalsignal when the SAW touch panel is being touched, wherein the size ofeach depression is larger than a threshold; and detecting a positionbased on each depression, wherein, before detecting the position of eachdepression that spans over multiple partial output electrical signals,at least one of the partial output electrical signals over which therespective depression spans is enlarged or shrunk.

The objectives of the present invention can also be achieved by thefollowing technical measures.

The complete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panel isuntouched is in the form of a saw-tooth waveform.

The partial output electrical signal to be enlarged is enlarged by aratio of a starting signal of a latter partial output electrical signalfollowing a partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be enlarged in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to an endingsignal of the partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be enlarged.

The partial output electrical signal to be shrunk is shrunk by a ratioof an ending signal of a front partial output electrical signalpreceding a partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be shrunk in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to a startingsignal of the partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be shrunk.

A starting signal of a latter partial output electrical signal is largerthan an ending signal of a front partial output electrical signal in thecomplete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panel is beingtouched.

The detection of the position includes calculating a centroid positionbased on the depressions.

The objectives of the present invention are achieved by the followingtechnical schemes. A position detecting device proposed by the presentinvention includes: a surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch panel includinga reflector array distributed on four sides of the SAW touch panel and asensing device, the sensing device including: a first vertical-axistransducer element and a first horizontal-axis transducer element forproviding multiple SAW segments to be propagated on the SAW touch panel;a second vertical-axis transducer element and a second horizontal-axistransducer element for receiving the SAWs propagated on the SAW touchpanel; and a control circuit for performing the following: providing apartial output electrical signal based on a different portion of eachreceived SAW segment and combining all of the partial output electricalsignals to form a complete output electrical signal; comparing thecomplete output electrical signal with a complete output electricalsignal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to detect one or moredepressions in the complete output electrical signal when the SAW touchpanel is being touched, wherein the size of each depression is largerthan a threshold; and detecting a position based on each depression,wherein, before detecting the position of each depression that spansover multiple partial output electrical signals, at least one of thepartial output electrical signals over which the respective depressionspans is enlarged or shrunk.

The objectives of the present invention can also be achieved by thefollowing technical measures.

The complete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panel isuntouched is in the form of a saw-tooth waveform.

The partial output electrical signal to be enlarged is enlarged by aratio of a starting signal of a latter partial output electrical signalfollowing a partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be enlarged in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to an endingsignal of the partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be enlarged.

The partial output electrical signal to be shrunk is shrunk by a ratioof an ending signal of a front partial output electrical signalpreceding a partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be shrunk in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to a startingsignal of the partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be shrunk.

A starting signal of a latter partial output electrical signal is largerthan an ending signal of a front partial output electrical signal in thecomplete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panel is beingtouched.

The detection of the position includes calculating a centroid positionbased on the depressions.

With the above technical schemes, the present invention has at least thefollowing advantages and effects:

1. As to the amplification of the received SAW signals, wave number canbe increased to achieve this, and it is thus not limited to the gainperformance of hardware circuits; and

2. As to the different degrees of amplifications given to differentdetecting areas, the signals can be adaptively maintained in apredefined range, so that the size of an applicable SAW touch panel canbe significantly increased.

The above description is only an outline of the technical schemes of thepresent invention. Preferred embodiments of the present invention areprovided below in conjunction with the attached drawings to enable onewith ordinary skill in the art to better understand said and otherobjectives, features and advantages of the present invention and to makethe present invention accordingly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments, withreference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram depicting a prior-art SAW touch panel;

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the electrical potential of outputelectrical signals when the prior-art SAW touch panel has no touch;

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating the electrical potential of outputelectrical signals when the prior-art SAW touch panel has a touch;

FIG. 1D is a diagram illustrating the electrical potential of outputelectrical signals when a large-size SAW touch panel has a touch;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a position detecting method accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating signal extraction in thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a position detecting method accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating a touch positionthat spans over multiple segments of output electrical signals providedby a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch position that spansover multiple segments of output electrical signals provided by a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments of the present invention are described in detailsbelow. However, in addition to the descriptions given below, the presentinvention can be applicable to other embodiments, and the scope of thepresent invention is not limited by such, rather by the scope of theclaims. Moreover, for better understanding and clarity of thedescription, some components in the drawings may not necessary be drawnto scale, in which some may be exaggerated relative to others, andirrelevant parts are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1A before, signals are presented by the signalsreceived by the second horizontal-axis and vertical-axis transducerelements 14 b and 15 b after a string of continuous SAW is provided. Thesignals will gradually diminish, which affects the size of thedepression corresponding to a touch.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a position detecting method according to afirst embodiment of the present invention is shown. First, in step 210,each time a detection is made, multiple SAW segments are provided on aSAW touch panel. Then, in step 220, the multiple SAW segments arereceived by the SAW touch panel. The multiple SAW segments may includemultiple SAW segments initially propagated along the vertical axis ofthe SAW touch panel and multiple SAW segments initially propagated alongthe horizontal axis of the SAW touch panel. In addition, the receivedSAW segments may include multiple SAW segments received along thevertical axis of the SAW touch panel and multiple SAW segments receivedalong the horizontal axis of the SAW touch panel. Then, in step 230,during or upon reception, a partial output electrical signal is providedfor a different portion of each SAW segment, and a complete outputelectrical signal is constructed.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, a position detecting device of the presentinvention includes a touch panel 10, which includes a screen area 11 anda reflection area 12. The reflection area 12 includes a sensing device13, which has a first and a second horizontal-axis transducer element 14a and 14 b and a first and a second vertical-axis transducer element 15a and 15 b, wherein the second horizontal-axis and vertical axistransducer elements 14 b and 15 b receive SAW signals Signal_V1 andSignal_V2 corresponding to input electrical signals Signal_Ei1 andSignal_Ei2 sent by the first horizontal-axis and vertical axistransducer elements 14 a and 15 a, and produce output electrical signalsSignal_Eo1 and Signal_Eo2, respectively. In addition, the sensing device13 further includes a set of first and second vertical-axis reflectionunits 16 a and 16 b and a set of first and second horizontal-axisreflection units 17 a and 17 b. These four reflection units 16 a, 16 b,17 a and 17 b each includes a plurality of reflectors r. Thesereflectors r are all partially transmissive and partially reflective.Meanwhile, the SAW signals Signal_V1 and Signal_V2 necessary for sensinga possible touch point P input on each horizontal axis and vertical axisare provided by this partially transmissive and partially reflectiveeffect of the reflectors r. These reflectors r can be a wiring layerprinted on a glass substrate of the touch screen, so cost ofmanufacturing is low. In addition, the reflectors r of the reflectionunits 16 a, 16 b, 17 a and 17 b are all arranged from sparse to dense(as seen from the traveling directions of the SAW signals Signal_V1 andSignal_V2).

The sending of the input electrical signals Signal_Ei1 and Signal_Ei2and the reception of the output electrical signals Signal_Eo1 andSignal_Eo2 are carried out by a control circuit (not shown). This is awell-known technique to those with ordinary skill in the art, thus itwill not further described. The control circuit performs the aboveposition detecting method. The control circuit may include, for example,a processor and a storage unit. The storage unit carries a program thatcauses the processor to execute the above steps 210 to 230.

Referring to FIG. 3, in an example of the present invention, multiplesegments of detection areas corresponding to the horizontal and verticalaxes are laid out on the SAW panel. Each segment of detection areacorrespondingly receives a different segment of the SAW. The abovemultiple SAW segments may include multiple SAW segments initiallypropagated along the vertical axis of the SAW touch panel and multipleSAW segments initially propagated along the horizontal axis of the SAWtouch panel. Take vertically propagated SAWs as an example, threedetecting areas P1, P2 and P3 are laid out in the vertical direction ofthe SAW panel, and three SAW segments are propagated. Corresponding tothese three SAW segments, SAWs W1, W2 and W3 are received, and outputelectrical signals Sw1, Sw2 and Sw3 are generated, wherein a partialoutput electrical signal S1 is generated based on a portion of thereceived SAW W1 corresponding to the detecting area P1; a partial outputelectrical signal S2 is generated based on a portion of the received SAWW2 corresponding to the detecting area P2; a partial output electricalsignal S3 is generated based on a portion of the received SAW W3corresponding to the detecting area P3, and these partial outputelectrical signals S1, S2 and S3 are combined to construct a completeoutput electrical signal Smix. Although the descriptions above are madein the context of the vertical axis, it is appreciated by one withordinary skill in the art that the above descriptions are equallyapplicable to the horizontal axis. In addition, the output electricalsignal Smix includes, but is not limited to, the partial outputelectrical signals S1, S2 and S3, as well as output electrical signalsbefore the detecting area P1 and output electrical signals after thedetecting area P3.

Although FIG. 3 shows three segments of partial output electricalsignals, it is appreciated by one with ordinary skill in the art thatthe above partial output electrical signals and the propagated SAWs canhave different number of segments, and the present invention is notlimited to this. Furthermore, the extraction of each segment of partialoutput electrical signal may be based on a time region corresponding todifferent detecting areas, wherein the time region may be in referenceto the initial time for receiving the SAW segment or the initial timefor providing the SAW segment, that is, a period of time since theinitial time for receiving the SAW segment or the initial time forproviding the SAW segment. The period of time for each SAW is notnecessarily the same.

In an example of the present invention, after the received SAWs W1, W2and W3 are converted into the output electrical signals Sw1, Sw2 andSw3, the partial output electrical signals S1, S2 and S3 are thenextracted from the output electrical signals Sw1, Sw2 and Sw3 toconstruct the complete output electrical signal Smix.

In another example of the present invention, during reception, theportions of the received SAWs W1, W2 and W3 corresponding to thedetecting areas P1, P2 and P3 are converted into the partial outputelectrical signals S1, S2 and S3, respectively.

Moreover, the present invention further includes amplifying the outputelectrical signal by increasing the wave number of the SAWs or raisingthe gain of converting the received SAWs to the output electricalsignals, so that the extracted partial output electrical signals S1, S2and S3 may be maintained in a predefined range.

In an example of the present invention, the output electrical signal israised by increasing the wave number of the SAWs. Each propagated SAWsegment can have a different wave number. For example, the wave numberof the third SAW segment is larger than that of the second SAW segment,and the wave number of the second SAW segment is larger than that of thefirst SAW segment. In other words, the wave number of at least one laterSAW segment is larger than that of at least one former SAW segment.Obviously, when the SAW touch panel is untouched, the above completeoutput electrical signal may be in the form of a partial or completesaw-tooth waveform. The region where the saw-tooth waveform is presentat least corresponds to a region in which the SAW panel is able todetect a touch, or corresponding to a region in which the abovehorizontal-axis and vertical-axis transducer elements or reflectors isable to reflect the SAWs to traverse the SAW touch panel.

In another example of the present invention, the output electricalsignal is raised by increasing the gain. A partial output electricalsignal can be extracted from each received SAW using a different gain.In other words, each output electrical signal is generated by thesensing device based on a gain; the gain of at least one later SAWsegment is larger than that of at least one former SAW segment, or thegain of at least one later partial output electrical signal is largerthan that of at least one former partial output electrical signal.

In yet another example of the present invention, the output electricalsignal is raised by increasing both wave number and the gain. Regardlessof which method is used to raise the output electrical signal, the sizeof a depression caused by a touch can also be increased.

According to the above, the output electrical signal can be maintainedin a predefined range when the SAW touch panel is untouched, and thesize of a depression caused by a touch can also be increased to adetectable level, such as greater than a threshold.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, a single SAW segmentcan be propagated, and the received SAW is then converted into multiplesegments of partial output electrical signals using multiple segments ofdifferent gains, and each segment of the partial output electricalsignals is maintained at a similar range. However, in large-size SAWtouch panel, the latter signals may attenuate to a range that is hard todetect, thus even if the gain is increased, it may still not be possibleto detect a touch and a touch position from the partial outputelectrical signal.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, when a depression spansover multiple adjacent segments of partial output electrical signals,another SAW segment is propagated, and a segment of output electricalsignal including the depression is generated based on the received SAWin order to accurately determine the touch position. For example, thecentroid position is calculated based on the depression.

In summary of the above, the present invention provides a positiondetecting method as shown in FIG. 4. In step 410, a complete outputelectrical signal is generated when a SAW touch panel is untouched. Thecomplete output electrical signal is formed by combining multiplesegments of partial output electrical signals generated based ondifferent parts of multiple SAWs. Then, in step 420, a complete outputelectrical signal is generated when the SAW touch panel is beingtouched. Thereafter, in step 430, this signal is compared with thecomplete output electrical signal generated at the time of no touch todetect any depression in the complete output electrical signal generatedat the time of touch, wherein the size of each depression is greaterthan a threshold. Then, in step 440, a position is detected based oneach depression. Furthermore, the above steps 410 to 440 can be carriedout by the control circuit.

Referring to FIG. 5A in conjunction with FIG. 3, a depression T1corresponding to a touch spans over two partial output electricalsignals S1 and S2 is shown. If the centroid position is calculated basedon this depression, since the size of depression is greater on thepartial output electrical signal S2, so the centroid position will skewtowards the partial output electrical signal S2. Thus, as shown in FIG.5B, after determining that the size of the depression T1 is greater thanthe threshold, a SAW with a corresponding wave number corresponding tothe range of the depression T1 is propagated on the SAW touch panel,thus generating a partial output electrical signal Sr including adepression T2 that corresponds to the same touch. Since the outputelectrical signal is generated based on the same SAW segment, so thedetermined centroid position more accurately represents the touchposition.

In other words, the above steps 410 to 430 may be regarded as a firstdetecting stage, and upon detecting a depression spanning over multiplepartial output electrical signals, a second detecting stage is performedto detect the position represented by this depression spanning overmultiple partial output electrical signals.

The second detecting stage generates a second-stage SAW segment based oneach first-stage depression spanning over multiple partial outputelectrical signals, and generates a second-stage output electricalsignal based on the received SAW. The second-stage output electricalsignal is not in the form of saw-tooth waveform. Assuming thedepressions detected in step 430 are first-stage depressions, eachsecond-stage output electrical signal corresponds to a first-stagedepression spanning over multiple partial output electrical signals, anda second-stage depression is presented at a corresponding first-stagedepression. The above position is detected based on the second-stagedepression, that is, the above position is detected based on a portionof the second-stage output electrical signal that corresponds to theabove first-stage depression.

The wave number of the second-stage SAW can be generated based on thecorresponding first-stage depression spanning over multiple partialoutput electrical signals, for example, based on the wave number of theSAW corresponding to the first partial output electrical signal overwhich the first-stage depression spanned, or based on the wave number ofthe SAW corresponding to the last partial output electrical signal overwhich the first-stage depression spanned, or based on an average of theabove two.

The gain of the second-stage SAW can be generated based on thecorresponding first-stage depression spanning over multiple partialoutput electrical signals, for example, based on the gain correspondingto the first partial output electrical signal over which the first-stagedepression spanned, or based on the gain corresponding to the lastpartial output electrical signal over which the first-stage depressionspanned, or based on an average of the above two.

In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, when a depressionspanning over multiple partial output electrical signals correspondingto a touch is detected, then at least one of the latter or front partialoutput electrical signals in the depression range is adjusted (shrunk orenlarged), simulating a continuous detection waveform for detecting thetouch position. For example, as shown in FIG. 5C, based on the ratio rof the ending signal of the front partial output electrical signal tothe starting signal of the latter partial output electrical signal, thewhole latter partial output electrical signal is shrunk. In an exampleof the present invention, when the front partial output electricalsignal is already shrunken, the overall latter output electrical signalis shrunk by a ratio of the ending signal of the already shrunken frontpartial output electrical signal to the starting signal of the latterpartial output electrical signal. It can be appreciated by one withordinary skill in the art that the whole front output electrical signalcan be enlarged based on the ratio r of the starting signal of thelatter partial output electrical signal to the ending signal of thefront partial output electrical signal. Alternatively, the front andlatter output electrical signals can both be adjusted based on the ratior.

In other words, in the above step 440, at least one of partial outputelectrical signals corresponding to a depression spanning over thosepartial output electrical signals is enlarged or shrunk before positiondetection is performed.

For example, in the case that the starting signal of a latter partialoutput electrical signal is larger than the ending signal of the frontpartial output electrical signal in a complete output electrical signal,the partial output electrical signal to be enlarged is enlarged by aratio of a starting signal of a latter partial output electrical signalfollowing a partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be enlarged in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW is untouched to an ending signal of thepartial output electrical signal corresponding to the partial outputelectrical signal to be enlarged. Alternatively, the partial outputelectrical signal to be shrunk is shrunk by a ratio of an ending signalof a front partial output electrical signal preceding a partial outputelectrical signal corresponding to the partial output electrical signalto be shrunk in the complete output electrical signal when the SAW isuntouched to a starting signal of the partial output electrical signalcorresponding to the partial output electrical signal to be shrunk.

In the present invention, the touch position is determined based on thecentroid position as an example, but one with ordinary skill in the artcan appreciate that there are other methods of calculating the touchposition. However, these are not the focus of the present invention, andthus will not be further described herein.

Moreover, the detection of a depression can be made by comparing thecomplete output electrical signals at the time of no touch and at thetime of touch, or alternatively, by directly detecting on the completeoutput electrical signal at the time of touch; the present inventiondoes not put limit on this.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the principles of thepresent invention, and they should not be construed as to limit thepresent invention in any way. The above embodiments can be modified bythose with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope ofthe present invention as defined in the following appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A position detecting method, comprising:generating a complete output electrical signal when a surface acousticwave (SAW) touch panel is untouched, the complete output electricalsignal being formed by combining multiple segments of partial outputelectrical signals generated based on different portions of multipleSAWs, the partial output electrical signals gradually diminish;generating a complete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panelis being touched; comparing the complete output electrical signal whenthe SAW touch panel is being touched with the complete output electricalsignal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to detect one or moredepressions in the complete output electrical signal when the SAW touchpanel is being touched, wherein the size of each depression is largerthan a threshold; and detecting a position based on each depression,wherein, before detecting the position of each depression that spansover multiple partial output electrical signals, at least one of thepartial output electrical signals over which the respective depressionspans is enlarged or shrunk.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thecomplete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouchedis in the form of a saw-tooth waveform.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the partial output electrical signal to be enlarged is enlargedby a ratio of a starting signal of a latter partial output electricalsignal following a partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be enlarged in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to an endingsignal of the partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be enlarged.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the partial output electrical signal to be shrunk is shrunkby a ratio of an ending signal of a front partial output electricalsignal preceding a partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be shrunk in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is untouched to a startingsignal of the partial output electrical signal corresponding to thepartial output electrical signal to be shrunk.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein a starting signal of a latter partial output electrical signalis larger than an ending signal of a front partial output electricalsignal in the complete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panelis being touched.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection of theposition includes calculating a centroid position based on thedepressions.
 7. A position detecting device, comprising: a surfaceacoustic wave (SAW) touch panel including a reflector array distributedon four sides of the SAW touch panel and a sensing device, the sensingdevice including: a first vertical-axis transducer element and a firsthorizontal-axis transducer element for providing multiple SAW segmentsto be propagated on the SAW touch panel; a second vertical-axistransducer element and a second horizontal-axis transducer element forreceiving the SAWs propagated on the SAW touch panel; and a controlcircuit for performing the following: providing a partial outputelectrical signal based on a different portion of each received SAWsegment and combining all of the partial output electrical signals toform a complete output electrical signal, the partial output electricalsignals gradually diminish; comparing the complete output electricalsignal with a complete output electrical signal when the SAW touch panelis untouched to detect one or more depressions in the complete outputelectrical signal when the SAW touch panel is being touched, wherein thesize of each depression is larger than a threshold; and detecting aposition based on each depression, wherein, before detecting theposition of each depression that spans over multiple partial outputelectrical signals, at least one of the partial output electricalsignals over which the respective depression spans is enlarged orshrunk.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the complete output electricalsignal when the SAW touch panel is untouched is in the form of asaw-tooth waveform.
 9. The device of claim 7, wherein the partial outputelectrical signal to be enlarged is enlarged by a ratio of a startingsignal of a latter partial output electrical signal following a partialoutput electrical signal corresponding to the partial output electricalsignal to be enlarged in the complete output electrical signal when theSAW touch panel is untouched to an ending signal of the partial outputelectrical signal corresponding to the partial output electrical signalto be enlarged.
 10. The device of claim 7, wherein the partial outputelectrical signal to be shrunk is shrunk by a ratio of an ending signalof a front partial output electrical signal preceding a partial outputelectrical signal corresponding to the partial output electrical signalto be shrunk in the complete output electrical signal when the SAW touchpanel is untouched to a starting signal of the partial output electricalsignal corresponding to the partial output electrical signal to beshrunk.
 11. The device of claim 7, wherein a starting signal of a latterpartial output electrical signal is larger than an ending signal of afront partial output electrical signal in the complete output electricalsignal when the SAW touch panel is being touched.
 12. The device ofclaim 7, wherein the detection of the position includes calculating acentroid position based on the depressions.